mcash70 said:Thank you Emily, for your very kind offer, but it would be way too expensive to ship to Canada.

We need a worldwide Daylily Express!

AnnaSartin said:

We need a worldwide Daylily Express!

I too knew Tusk was an evergreen. I was very very careful with it, but two nasty nasty winters in a row decimated that lowly single fan. I have many other evergreens that do just fine here. Also, unless I try it, I will never know if it will work! I love to push the ranges somewhat. I still wish I had it, the flower in photos looks spectacular. Guess I will just have to content myself with others photos! I hope it works for you Mike, I want to see photos! ~Jan

Very true Jan. I have several evergreens that actually thrive in my zone. Jan's Twister is one of them. You don't know how they will be in your zone until you try them. Some do poorly and others do well.

This isn't a daylily loss, but I was almost sick to my stomach yesterday when I realized that my Franklinia had not leafed out yet. The freeze/thaw/freeze of this past winter seems to have done him in.

When I bought him in 2009, the $38 I paid for him was the most I'd ever paid for a tree. We carefully fit him into the back of my PT Cruiser, and I drove him home from Fayetteville GA (approx 50 miles), and gave him a place of honor in my yard. He rewarded me by surviving, and a couple years later, he bloomed. Last year was his most blooms ever, and I was looking forward to even more blooms this year, since he was obviously happy in his home.

But instead, he's just a bare stick, six feet tall, with little twigs that are bone-dry when you break them off. Each little twig is still topped by the terminal bud that he had before that last freeze.

How sad. I understand.

Hey! Gerry's back!

Mary I'm sorry about your tree. Is there any living wood left that you could try and cut back to?

Mary, so sorry to hear about your tree, that is very sad.

JWWC said:Hey! Gerry's back!

Mary I'm sorry about your tree. Is there any living wood left that you could try and cut back to?

I don't know. I'm going to leave him alone, for now, and ask the nursery that sold him to me what they recommend.

Oh that is very sad to loose a tree. My daughter lost her Red Bud tree and she was upset by that loss.

And he's a rare tree, so it hurts me that much more. If he's REALLY gone, I'll replace him. He's too nice not to have in my yard.

This is how he looked on 6/3/13. And this year, he's just a bare stick.



and this is his flower, from Aug 2012

It sure was a nice looking tree and the flower was lovely too.

this is what it looks like today

From sadness can bloom some blessings ... your post made me curious to go and learn more myself, and it is always nice to know more about the natural world around us, and its gifts. One thing I stumbled upon was that Franklinia may not fare well in areas that have ever previously been planted with azaleas, rhododendrons, or cotton crops; apparently there is a pathogen in the soil left over from those plants that is toxic to it. Some sources mentioned that in the south, where those plants and crops may have been more likely to have previously been in the ground, can be a more challenging area to grow Franklinia in, with some success found by transferring (or starting and keeping) young trees in sterile potting soil and protecting them by accommodating their growth in large container arrangements. Maybe something to ask the nursery about, if they are willing to help guide you in its recovery?

That's interesting about the crops. my subdivision was created in what use to be a horse pasture, and Ben has done exceedingly well for the last five years. My nursery told me most folks can't keep them alive long enough to bloom. So I don't think my planting location was the issue. I think it was the really weird winter/spring we had, where a hard freeze came AFTER the terminal buds had popped. Ben was killed as he was waking up from winter, because winter wasn't totally done yet.

Franklinia actually was FOUND in the south -- in 1765, it was discovered along the Altamaha river in coastal GA, and named after the Ben Franklin, cause the discoverer was a friend of his. Today, every Franklinia you find is descended from the ones this man gathered in 1783 and took back to Philly with him. It hasn't been seen in the wild since 1803.

my nursery says this about it:

Now extinct in the wild this beautiful species which (Father) John and (Son) William Bartram discovered in 1765 along the Altamaha River in South Georgia and named in honor of John's Good friend Benjamin Franklin. The botanical species name alatamaha comes from a common misspelling of the Altamaha River in those days. Later John's son William Bartram returned to collected seed and propagated it at their Philadelphia garden and this is where all plants to see today originate from. The species has never been seen naturally in the wild since 1803. Many Thanks go to people like William and many others for bring native species into cultivation for this can the best measure off preventing extinction today. It has large white flowers with yellow centers that bloom from mid summer to late fall. It is an under story tree that reaches a height of about 20 feet. We have grown it in full sun with success, but more success can been witnessed in high 4-8' raise beds in dapple sun and partial shade in the South where red clay is prevailent. In cooler climates it will tolerate sun better. It prefers soils that drain well with constant moisture, but that is never wet. Some theorists believe that the Ice Age forced this plant south hence it not being commom at any time in the south due to it be a in an area where it only survived not thrived. I tend follow this belief because it appear to perform much better the futher north one tries to grow it.

They're out of stock right now, but should have more available in the fall, and I'll get another one this fall try again. I love this tree.

How interesting. Well I hope you are able to get another one.

How fascinating about the Bartrams.

Sorry you lost your lovely tree Mary. It can make one sick when losing a special plant.

In addition to my iris & daylilies, I also lost my winter hardy hibiscus and a ligularia. I can certainly understand the sadness of losing a tree.

Several years ago I lost a beautiful mature maple tree, after it had leaf buds but before it leafed out. The arborist told me that it had been planted too deeply and it's roots had strangled itself.

philljm said:Several years ago I lost a beautiful mature maple tree, after it had leaf buds but before it leafed out. The arborist told me that it had been planted too deeply and it's roots had strangled itself.

poor thing.

My nursery says they will have some Franklinias in the fall, and that it will give me an excuse to visit them. I don't go there often, becuase it's 50miles each way from where I live. It's been about 18months since I was there.